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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
5.0
“If you walk the night road too often, sooner or later, you'll run into ghosts.”
➽ I loved the switch between the present day and the flashbacks. Right from the beginning, you know that something happened to make everyone revile Wei Wuxian as the 'Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation' but there is still so much about the past we're only slowly uncovering. I love the mystery of what happened in the war with the Wen Clan and how exactly Wei Wuxian died in his first life. I guess we'll be getting a lot of flashbacks over the course of the series and slowly keep seeing the bigger picture. Things are already exciting in the present day as well, as there's a dangerous ghost arm on the loose!
➽ The heart of the story are of course the characters! To no one's surprise, my favorite is Wei Wuxian, as I love mischievous, morally grey characters. While everyone talks about him like he's the devil personified, you start to question how much of it is just gossip and rumours that went out of control. While Wei Wuxian practices an unorthodox path of cultivation, he cares about protecting the young juniors he encounters on a Night Hunt. I loved his playful personality and humor, he's my kind of character, especially since there also seems to be a tragic background story! Our second main character is Lan Zhan, an old acquaintance who is held in high esteem in the cultivation world. He's a man of few words and often it's difficult to tell what he's thinking. I loved their dynamic from the start as they're such different characters. We even get a flashback that shows their first meeting back in their youth. Wei Wuxian has to maintain the identity of Mo Xuanyu, the man whose body he now inhabits, but staying close to Lan Zhan might be a good idea for now!
Graphic: Death, Gore, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Torture, and War
lunalikesbooksss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Him saying
The fact that Wei Wuxian keeps joking around about liking men early in the volume and then later ends up with a man is just so much fun lol. He was so funny throughout most of the volume.
If you don't want a slow burn with a LOT of plot, this isn't the series for you! I love what's going on though. There's so much.
I only had a couple of issues with this first volume:
- Wei Wuxian drinks Emperor's Smile and says he never got to have it when he was younger but in the flashback, he did? Not a big deal, but it irked me a bit.
- Lan Wangji tells this long ass story explaining a lot about a specific incident. I would have much rather gotten that information spread out.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia and Torture
Minor: Mental illness and Sexual harassment
softiejace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
The dynamic between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji is hard to describe of only because you don't know the whole history they have yet, nor where it will go in the future. So far, one is basically a class clown/jock type while the other is a stoic nerd type and I'm having a great time with it.
Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
aexileigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and War
nightivy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Genocide, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and War
graceskate's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Outing
ara02's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol
particledamage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
And after reading just volume 1, I will say, I appreciate the novel for expanding and clarifying the lore, but I think my "canon" will be the drama.
MXTX truly struggles to relay exposition in a smooth manner, instead choosing random info dumps that derail the plot and make it very unclear who knows what. I have no idea what information Wei Wuxian knows (or how he knows it, after coming back) and what information is included just for me, with him unaware.
This story is a diamond in the rough. Knowing what I know about how this ends (and also how much has been changed from original text to adaption, as I have also read the manhua and also several posts comparing the drama to the novels), I think the drama improved this story which lays down an amazing foundation. Great ideas, intriguing characters, but so much mess in between.
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death
illiteratenerd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War